WE INTRODUCED A 20 YEAR ANNUAL EVENT TO A NEW DIGITAL AUDIENCE ….

2016 Ebony Tie Affair

Strategy + Testing + Facebook Ads = Largest Attendance in 20 Years

THE STORY

The Ebony Tie Affair is a memorable evening of friendship, fellowship and entertainment. This event has provided the opportunity to celebrate the collective accomplishments of Ebony men from diverse backgrounds and circumstances. This occasion reflects the affection and obligation Ebony Men have for one another, the community and for the future.

The Ebony Tie Affair has provided the opportunity to celebrate the collective accomplishments of Ebony men from diverse backgrounds and circumstances. This occasion reflects the affection and obligation Ebony Men have for one another, the community and for the future. Ebony Men in attendance have the opportunity to appreciate the unique experience the occasion has to offer. As Men, we engage in fellowship and enjoy the company of our ebony friends-old and new-under circumstances that promote dialog and discourage division.

THE GOAL

Increase Brand Awareness while maintaining the established brand integrity of an intimate event.

Increase attendance by a minumum of 50 persons over the previous year.

Engage and begin to create a new younger audience of future Ebony Tie Affair attendees.

OUR PROCESSHaving previous experience with the event, we had a strong understanding of the type of customer the “Ebony Tie Affair,” would attract. We did spend sometime with the 2017 Event Chair to gain more insights and create metrics defining a successful 2016 event. A successful 2016 event would be defined by the following;

An additional 50 tickets being sold over last years total selling amount of 137

An increase of contact information captured for future marketing of the event

THE APPROACHWith only (2) weeks to execute the campaign prior to the event date. Quickly we created a inspiring video messages targeting two types of attendees. We also created (2) static image ads with respective messaging. We then used Facebook’s targeting tools to test and run 6 Ads, (4) video ads and (2) static image ads. Audience testing resulted in only (1) Video and (1) Static image ad creating significant conversions. We quickly abandoned the other (4) ad versions and slightly increased the ad spend on the (2) high converting ads.

THE RESULTS

Create 7,350 Impressions across (2) separate Ads

Increase attendance by 85 persons over the previous year

Captured an additional 223 new email addresses of potential leads for future communications and marketing campaigns.

Delivered our client a revenue of $11,475 from a $108 Facebook ad spend

CLIENT FEEDBACK

The Ebony Tie Affair is the largest formal gathering of African-American men on the East Coast. For 19 years, we put an invite in the mail for our regular guests and others we thought might be interested.

For the 2016 event, we used a digital marketing campaign and Facebook Advertising, which leveraged native and video content to announce our 20th year and increase our invited guests.We doubled our normal volume and enjoyed our very best year.